INTRODUCTION The broad defense seeks to make Allied

progress of the war the pivot of its strategy.

The goal is to force the Allies to fail their
Probably
robably no one was more anxious to see Empire of the Sun 1942 and early 1943 progress of the war
published than game developer Stephen Newberg and myself. requirements through aggressive reaction to
Allied offensives. This simulates an intense
For me this was the conclusion of an almost four year journey that period of combat reminiscent of the
began soon after the publication of For The People. Now that it is Solomons campaign. However, where on
the map this intense conflict occurs will
out on the market, I have been heartened by the tremendous interest often vary.
that the gaming public has shown in this game.
Now there are other things that the
Japanese can accomplish, such as eschewing
Although Empire of the Sun uses my card driven game some of these objectives and using a focused
(CDG) system as its core mechanic, it is unlike any game I have offensive strategy. The defining attribute of
this path is the use of resources in an
designed before. Almost all of the systems in the game break many aggressive manner to knock one of the big
traditional paradigms, so playing the game as intended takes a close three (India, China, or Australia) out of the
reading of the rules. war. The surrender of each of these
countries reduces US PW by two and
diminishes the Allied hand size for the
The main focus of this C3i Magazine article will be on strategy in remainder of the game. This strategy tends to
result in a all or nothing outcome due to higher
the campaign game opening and how this impacts the middle and losses earlier in the game than with the
late game. I will also discuss some practical illustrations on how to broad defense strategy. If it fails, then the US
leverage the game systems to accomplish player goals. advance across the central Pacific tends to
proceed ahead of historical schedule.

The Japanese Opening: December 1941
and The Big Picture
The early war (1942) establishes the basic
outline of the Japanese position. The
Japanese are faced with perhaps their most
important decision of the game, either play
for a broad defense trying to win a mid-tolate
late
game victory or a focused offensive against
one of the major nations (Australia, India, or
China) with an attempt at winning the game
early due to negotiations. If the Japanese pull
an extraordinarily good hand on Turn 2 they
could blend the two concepts to some
degree, but a strong or weak hand tends to
drive an either or type of decision.
In the broad defense strategy the Japanese
are planning to follow a more historical
path and wear down the Allied counter
offensives as they try and advance toward
Japan. To prosecute either strategy the
Japanese want to ensure that they are
getting a base of seven cards prior to
Strategic Warfare, which means that at a
minimum the Japanese need to capture 13 of
the 14 resource spaces by the start of Turn
5. This requires the capture of the
Philippines, Malaya, and the Dutch East
Indies (DEI), plus either Vogelkop (3219,
the resource space in New Guinea) or
Rangoon (2008) as the 13th resource space. In
the broad defense, the Japanese will typically
knock down US Political Will (PW) by
three due to National Surrender, with the
possibility of one additional PW loss due to
how the war in Burma turns out.
The IAI card is one of those great opportu-
opportu
nities for a player to write an alternate
history. The comprehensive example
example-ofplay
depicts the historical record. Although the
historical Japanese plan worked to near
perfection, there are some more aggressive
options available in the South Pacific or
over
er in Burma. One of the more interesting
options players have explored has been to
hold off taking some of the initial historical
objectives and instead leapfrogging forward
for a more rapid attack on the DEI. Most of
these plans focus on achieving air and naval
superiority by eliminating the Commonwealth
Common
MA air unit, the US FEAF air unit, plus both
US Asia naval units, while leapfrogging
ground units into some key
DEI spaces. The goal of these alternative
IAI plans is to stifle any Turn 2 Allied
counter play and rapidly capture the DEI to
free up resources earlier for other strategic
ends.
The reason that the Japanese did not do this
historically is they wanted to secure their
lines of communication as they moved
forward. They could have taken a more
risky posture, but chose not to; players of
the game do have this option. The
downside to this strategy in EotS is an
aggressive Allied player can often move
forces onto the Japanese lines of communi-
cation using carrier escorted ground
strategic transport. For instance, if the
Japanese choose not to take Manila initially,
letting the USA garrison wither on the vine,
the Allies could send a carrier with a ground
unit (using strategic transport that doess not
use ASPS) into Manila thus reopening up
the Allied supply line. These Allied ground
units on Luzon could then begin to take
back territory, and if augmented with
ground based air, could create havoc on a
Japanese line of communication. This is the
historical reason why the Japanese avoided
this option. I have seen similar options for
Malaya and even Hong Kong. The game
system does not script the Japanese IAI
offensive and if the Allies do not react
aggressively to throw off the Japanese
advance, then n this leapfrogging tactic could
play out well; but if not, the Japanese
usually do not regain their offensive stride.
Japanese: January to April I942
(Game Turn 2)
Moving from the broad to the specific, the
Japanese need to knock the Dutch East
Indies out of the war rapidly. Accomplish-
Accomplish
ing this by Turn 2 captures the key resource
spaces and stops the Allies from deploying
their reinforcements in an offensive
manner. At a minimum, the historical
plan demonstrates the basic outlines of
how to quickly capture resources and
avoids allowing the Allies to salvage the
DEI situation. Assuming a start akin to
that shown in the comprehensive
example-of-play, the Japanese need to
capture Kuantan (20I4), Singapore
(20I5), and Manila (28I3) with a
minimum of activations and units.
This ensures that the Philippines and
Malaya will surrender at the end of the
second turn.
The big unknown is can the Japanese
knock out the DEI with their remaining
activations. There are no special rules
forcing the Japanese to go this way, but
failure to do so gives the Allies bases that
they historically spent 1943 and I944
trying to capture. Additionally, failure to
conquer the DEI ensures that the Japanese
will be at a card disadvantage for the
remainder of the game, hence no require-
require
ments for any special rules. Although
historically the Japanese also pushed into
Burma and the Solomon, it will depend
on what kind of hand the Japanese player
is holding on game Turn 2. Suffice to say,
the Japanese should not consider playing
any non-Offensive
Offensive events on Turn 2 if it
would jeopardize successfully forcing the
DEI to surrender. The one exception to
this is War In Europe (WIE) cards. If the
Japanese can quickly drive the WIE to
level 3, the Allies start losing critical ASP
reinforcements. However, if playing WIE
cards sacrifices too much offensive
momentum, it may not be the best thing
for the Japanese to play these as events.
WIE exceptions aside, the Japanese are
likely to have some tough choices
whetherr or not to use a great resource
event as an OC to enable continuation of
their initial offensives.
Japanese Alternate:
An alternate IAI plan
that leapfrogs the
Philippines, Malaya,
and Hong Kong for
early DEI gains,
coupled with air
and naval superiority.
 Designer's Notes by Mark Herman
Another option that Japanese players have
been exploring is to conduct a hedgehog
defense. The intent of this strategy is to
limit the Japanese conquest to the mini-
mum needed to gain 13 resource hexes and
to deny the Allies additional hexes that they
can conquer to achieve their late 1942/early
`43 progress of the war requirements. First
off, this almost happened historically. After
the Japanese conquered their pre-war
objectives by May of 1942, there was a
strategic debate in the senior military circles
over what to do next. In the end a 'Central
Agreement' was reached whereby the
Japanese decided to advance toward New
Caledonia through the Solomons and take
Port Moresby in order to cut off US aid to
Australia. In addition the Japanese Navy, as
per their doctrine, wanted to bring the US
fleet to decisive battle, which was the genesis
of the Midway offensive.
That was what happened historically, but if
the 'Central Agreement' had not been
reached the Japanese would have essentially
taken up the hedgehog defense option. In
game terms, the theory behind this strategy
is to manipulate the US Political Will
mechanic through national surrenders and
progress of the war failures to force the US
Political Will to 3 by the end of Turn 5.
An important feature is to deny the Allies
hexes to recapture as a means to deny them
progress of the war opportunities in game
Turns 4 and 5. The hope is that a low US
PW level is coupled with fortuitous
asymmetrical pull of the respective side's
political cards (Tokyo Rose/Tojo Resigns
1942 Hedgehog
This diagram shows the basic outlines of the Hedgehog defense and the early
US offensive against the Marshall Islands launched from Hawaii with supporting
air attacks from Northern New Guinea.
vice Doolittle Raid/Bataan Death March)
to achieve an automatic Japanese victory
sometime before game Turn 9 (when the
B29s arrive on the scene).
My design philosophy is to create game
situations based on the historical dynamics
to encourage correct historical decisions. I
do not believe in a lot of special rules to
script a situation just to make it work. I
want it to work dynamically, which requires
that both sides play their part to thwart
long-shot strategies. The downside of the
hedgehog strategy is its success requires that
the Allies cooperate and play passively.
The Allies are in a tremendous spatial
position if the Japanese play in this manner
(hedgehog), and can paralyze almost all
Japanese reactions in the Central Pacific if
the Japanese player stays within his Empire
boundary. For example, Wewak (3720) is
within LRB range of Truk (4017),
neutralizing it as a naval base. If Truk were
to fall, then all Japanese ports in the center
of the board (Saipan 38I3, Palau 3416, and
Ulithi 3615) are within LRB range. What
this means is by using their advantage in
LRB air units, the Allies during any
offensive can declare any port where the
Japanese are massing naval and air power as
battle hexes, preventing them from reacting
to more critical battles. This depicts a
month long bomber campaign, which
historically would neutralize a base.
Leveraging this spatial advantage, the Allies
can usually meet their Turn 4 progress of
the war requirement by conquering the
Marshall Islands (only requires two hexes,
Kwajalein 47I5 and Eniwetok 44I5) ahead
of schedule. If the Allies only take one of
the Marshall hexes on Turn 4, it is almost a
lock to make their Turn 5 progress of the
war requirement when the island chain falls.
Once game Turn 6 rolls around, the Allies
have sufficient ASP and naval forces to keep
the steamroller going. This is now enhanced
en
by the Allied ability to leverage their early
spatial advantage (created by the Japanese
hedgehog defense), in conjunction with the
judicial use of air power, to smother most
important Japanese reactions. It is important
that the Japanese player keep
kee this in mind
when they contemplate the hedgehog
defense.
The historical hedgehog defense option is
a great example of my design philosophy.
I do not legislate that the Japanese do what
they did historically. However, I have
created a situation that encourages the
Japanese to pursue the historical option due
to its game advantages. You as a player can
explore both options and see which one fits
your play style better.
Another interesting Japanese option is what
I call the Tsushima
Tsus opening. The goal of the
Tsushima opening is to bring the US Pacific
Fleet to decisive battle and eliminate it,
reducing US political will by two for
destruction of all on map US naval forces.
The Allied player will know if this option is
brewing if the Operation Z attack force
(CVs Akagi, Soryu, Shokaku, & BB Kongo 1)
ends their initial offensive in the Marshall
Islands. The goal of this strategy is to attack
Pearl Harbor in a one-two
one punch with the
Operation Z force sinking both of the US
CVs in Pearl Harbor and then later in the
turn Japan eliminates the US Asia Fleet (CA
and DD).
The key to the Tsushima opening is the
Turn 2 Pearl Harbor attack. The US forces
in Oahu comprise the CVs Lexington and
Enterprise plus the 7th AF units for a total of
38 combat attack factors. The Japanese CVs
attack totals 36 combat factors, so in order
to gain a combat advantage the attack needs
a 3 OC card to enable the BB Kongo 1 to
throw in its 17 attack factors, raising the
Japanese total to 53 combat attack factors.
Another key element of this attack is to
include the CL Tenyru to raise the force to
57 factors since it requires at least 56
combat factors to eliminate one of the
Allied CVs in the first combat. If the
Japanese attack Wake Island (4612) with

the IAI card and the Marine 21I air unit
manages to get a critical hit, the reduction
of the CL Tenyru neutralizes this possibility.
Another option is to bring the reduced BB
Yamato reinforcement into the Marshall
Islands to support this attack. After the
initial combat, the goal is to use the second
Japanese card play to attack Oahu a second
time to finish off either one or both US CVs
for a I US PW reduction. This is followed by
other offensives that sink the remaining US
naval units for another -1 US PW penalty.
To be absolutely effective the Tsushima
opening requires surprise attack (10%
probability) or that the Allied player is
not holding one of five key cards (73%
probability). These key cards are the two
Ambush Intelligence cards, Heroic
Repair, Skip Bombing (reduces the CL
Tenyru), and Darter-Dace (submarine
attack prior to combat). The attack can
still succeed without surprise attack, but
then the Japanese are likely to take some
carrier losses.
Since the dice love no one, it is my belief
that good strategy creates situations that
yield probabilities greater than 50% and
poor strategy yields situations that yield
probabilities of less than 50%. The
Tsushima opening, if surprise attack is
desired, has approximately a 8% probability
of success (calculated as the probability of
surprise*probability of the Japanese having
two 30C cards*probability that the Allies
do not have any of the 5 key
cards*probability of the Japanese achieving
a 1 times combat result). If surprise is not
desired, then the probability of success rises
to 25%, but the Japanese have a 70%
probability of losing at least one CV step
and a 40% probability of losing 3 CV steps.
Based on this analysis the Tsushima opening
is not an optimal strategy, but it can happen
in the game and is one of the Japanese
opening options. One particularly
important downside of this option is that if
pursued it almost guarantees that the
Japanese player will not conquer the DEI by
Turn 2. The ramification of this is whatever
US PW advantage gained may be lost by
not achieving DEI surrender.
A variant of the Tsushima opening is to
conduct the historical Midway offensive
but during the second turn (early '42).
Mathematically it plays out about the same
way, but it is more difficult if the Japanese
adopt a hedgehog strategy or fail to take
Strategy Concepts in Empire of the Sun
Wake Island. This is just another legitimate
Japanese option, but such diversion of
offensive activity on game Turn 2 also
significantly reduces the Japanese chances
for conquering the DEI.
Japanese: Mid-to-Late 1942
(Game Turns 3 and 4)
The beginning of Turn 3 may or may not
be required to finish off the DEI, but
depending on what the Allies do, this may
be a bit of a dogfight. Assuming the DEI is
forced to surrender at the conclusion of
Turn 2 (or when it is hopefully assured to
happen at the end of Turn 3), the Japanese
player faces a number of key choices that
all revolve around how do they intend to
win the game.
In the broad defense strategy, Japan needs
to keep the US forces at bay for as long as
possible. This usually entails capturing the
Solomons and New Guinea as a buffer to
Allied actions. The goal is to stop the Allies
from making their progress of the war
requirements in game Turn 4 (end of 1942)
and game Turn 5 (early 1943). The best
way to accomplish this is to centrally deploy
the main Japanese fleet in Truk to react to
moves against the Marshalls, Solomons, or
New Guinea. Pour your reinforcing ground
and air units into this region and prepare
to fight it out with the US forces. The
disadvantage of the hedgehog strategy is
Truk cannot fulfill its historical role because
it is too easy to neutralize with a long-range
bomber offensive, as mentioned above. If
you can hold off the US advance for at
least one of the turns (4 or 5), and the US
PW card events that may arise neutralize
each other, the Allies will have a US
Political Will of 4. If the Americans make a
mistake and let you either wipe out all of
their carriers and/or eliminate a major
ground unit, then the Allies are in (or close
to) the `Tojo red zone' (US PW of 2 or
less). It is usually a bad idea to play the
Tojo Resigns card with a US PW greater
than 3 as it opens up the possibility of
losing Manchuria and a card every turn.
Although this is not a principle, the
Japanese should usually only play Tojo
Resigns if it will drive the US PW to zero.
Another component of the broad defense
strategy is the China
China-Burma-India (CBI)
theatre. Conquering Burma further reduces
US PW and makes the possibility of
defeating China much greater by cutting
the Burma Road. But the CBI is the one
area on the map that does not require Allied
use of amphibious shipping points (ASP) to
prosecute offensives, so the more aggressive
the Japanese are in the CBI, the more
exposed they are to Allied counterattacks.
counteratta
If one considers the focused strategy
alternative, there are two basic variants. The
first focuses on Australia. This is the more
difficult objective since it requires the
redeployment of the South Seas HQ or a
very aggressive suicide attack that sacrifices
ground units for control. There are two
basic paths for taking Australia, either
capture the East coast first, redeploy the
South Seas HQ to Biak (3319), and then
conquer the West (Broome 2426 is still
1942 Japanese Axes of Advanc
Advance
This diagram shows the basic axes of
Japanese advance during the early game.
 Designer's Notes by Mark Herman
tough). The alternative is to conquer New
Guinea (Port Moresby 3823 is a must
have), then redeploy the HQ to Biak and
you can go for either coast. Although
Darwin (3023) is the best place for the
South Seas HQ it is out of supply unless
you move an HQ twice. Regardless of the
technique used, going for Australia forces
a strong position in the Solomons and
New Guinea and to some degree it can be
considered a variant of the broad defense
strategy.
The other option is to be less aggressive in
the East and focus all of your offensive
efforts in the CBI. The advantage of this
approach is at a minimum it tends to cut
the Burma Road enabling a China focus,
while preserving an India option if the
situation presents itself. China can actually
be defeated without ever getting a China
EC Offensive. It takes five unanswered
successes to put China down. The Japanese
get 6 China OC offensive opportunities
(one every even numbered game turn), and
have 4 potential China EC China
Offensives (one dependent on the Doolittle
raid) versus 5 Allied EC China Offensives.
The China option doesn't require closing
the Burma Road, but it does improve
Japanese chances. As a side benefit, if
Burma is defeated it further erodes US PW.
Of the three focus strategies, the China
option is the most viable.
India on the other hand is quite hard to
take. Even with Gandhi cards supporting
Japanese efforts, it takes from 3 to 4 turns
to be successful and further requires that the
Allies do not retake even one North India
hex to reset the conquest clock. Once the
Allies lose North India, they can usually
bend sufficient effort to take back Dacca cca
and nullify all preceding Japanese efforts.
If the Japanese do decide to go for Northern
India, it is usually best to support this effort
with the conquest of Ceylon. By position--
ing a Japanese air unit in Columbo (1307),
Madras (1406) is neutralized through
hrough ZOI
as a reinforcement debarkation port, which
helps to stifle any Allied counterattacks
before they can be organized.
On balance, a Japanese move into central
Burma offers the best payoff for the least
effort. This must be balanced against giving
the Allies offensive opportunities for the
duration of the game.
There are a large number of options and
permutations of these basic openings. How
one proceeds is based on player style and
how the situation developed over game
Turn 2. Basically, what happens in the
opening defines the strategic context that
the Japanese and the Allies will have to deal
with for the duration of the game. The
cards and your playing style should be
guides on which way to take the opening.
Allies: I942 (Game turns 2-4)
One of the biggest mistakes the Allies can
make in the opening turns is passive play.
Historically the Allies were aggressive and
were planning on holding portions of their
pre-war possessions as bases for future
counteroffensives. It was the totality of
Japan's historical success that forced the
Allies to rearrange their thinking on when
and where the counteroffensives would be
launched.
To a great degree the Allies must exploit
the openings the Japanese give them as it is
often difficult in the beginning to drive the
pace of the game. One issue the Allies need
to keep in mind is how to first stop the
Japanese from defeating Allied nations
without paying a price. If you can halt the
Japanese, all the better, but at a minimum
you need to eliminate or weaken some of
pre-war elite units so things will be easier
down the road.
Game Turn 2 is a tough one for the Allies.
The Allies should focus on playing events
such as Arcadia Conference (card #4),
which is now permitted to be in their initial
hand for the I942 start (but not for the
1941 Campaign Game, although try it as
an optional rule). The presence of the
ABDA HQ gives the Dutch a little sting,
and compels Japan to commit proper
resources to conquer the DEI. In general,
the Allies should preserve as much force as
possible, while making Japanese advances
as costly as possible.
Great moments for the Allies on Turn 2
are getting any resource card (especially
those that give units), Japanese Inter-
Inter
Service Rivalry (ISR), submarine reaction
cards, and any Ambush card (to be put
into future offensive status or used to
counter the Tsushima opening). With the
SEAC HQ going to India, the only Allied
choice on unit placement for game Turn 2
is where
to bring a 7th AF air unit (presumably lost
in the Pearl Harbor raid) back into Splay
through replacements. The best location
for this air unit is Midway, which gives
the Allies a chance to respond to any early
Central Pacific offensive. The overarching
Allied perspective on the second turn is to
make the Japanese pay for their successes
and to slow their offensive momentum in
anyy way possible.
The first offensive opportunity the Allies
should look for is where can they bring in
their delayed game Turn 2 reinforcements
(that arrive on game Turn 3). If the
Japanese have failed to force the surrender
of the DEI by Turn 2, then look to bring
in most of these reinforcements into
Koepang (2721) or Darwin (based on
where you place the arriving ANZAC
HQ, and ABDA HQ if in play). The
British fleet is very powerful based in
Timor or Darwin. Its presence forces the
Japanese to deploy their big naval units to
deal with the British by pulling these forces
west and opening up the eastern Japanese
position to US led counteroffensives.
If the Japanese decide to forgo taking a
strong position in the Solomons and New
Guinea
inea (the hedgehog strategy), they open
up their southern flank to a more rapid
advance into the Caroline Islands and the
Philippines. The big variable in EotS is air
power. Allowing the Allies to have early
unfettered access to the New Guinea
airfields puts their LRBs in range of
Davao (2915), Leyte (3014), Palau,
Ulithi, and Truk. This can neutralize the
utility of these ports as reaction bases. The
Allies should not ignore the potential for
getting Allied ground forces onto multimulti-
hex islands (e.g. Borneo) that maximize
Allied ASP resources when they are thin
by using overland movement to take key
Japanese hexes.
As mentioned earlier in the article, if the
Japanese delay in taking some key Allied
ports in their rear areas this opportunity
needs to be exploited. Look for opportuni-
opportuni
ties to use carrier escorted convoys to bring
a powerful ground unit with air support
into the Japanese rear. This is an excellent
use for the CVL Hermes, a weak expendable
unit, which can confer great advantage in
the right circumstance. This option is
particularly useful in the Philippines if
Manila is not captured on game Turn 2.
Even if the Allies lose the exploiting units,
they will easily resurrect via replacements
and their presence forces the Japanese to
expend resources to remove them. This is
another example of my design
philosophy. If the Japanese do not want
this to happen they have to make good
decisions, decisions which happen to
coincide with historical motivations for
such actions. If the Japanese play fast and
loose with good military tactics, then the
Allied counter tactic should change that
player's perspective for future games.
If the Japanese decide to ignore Malaya and
move directly on Burma, bring the Chinese
units into Central Burma and do not stack
them. This will cause the Japanese several
cards to clear them out of their way as they
advance on India. The key to not losing
India is Ceylon. If the Japanese manage to
conquer Northern India during 1942, it is
still extremely difficult to force Indian
surrender (even with Gandhi card) if they
do not also conquer Ceylon. The idea here
is that Japanese air units on Colombo
(I307) and in either Akyab (2206),
Dimasur (2005), or Dacca (1905) create a
ZOI over Madras (1406) and Calcutta
(1805) respectively, preventing Allied
reinforcements. If Ceylon is still British
controlled, then reinforcements can
continue to enter Mainland India via
Madras and then move up to try and break
the Japanese Northern India position. If the
Japanese achieve this lock down position,
the only viable Allied option is to launch an
Amphibious Assault offensive out of the
Maldives (1005) against Dacca.
If the DEI has surrendered and the Japanese
have developed their position in Burma,
New Guinea, and the Solomon, the Allies
need to consider where to deploy their main
axes of advance. Assuming that the Japanese
do play along the historical path, then the
historical record is a reasonable guide on
how to proceed.
An important feature of this design is the
US PW index. US PW is a resource that is
broadly expended through game actions.
There are a few mechanics that energize this
will, but until the B29s start knocking
down Japanese cities, PW is a scarce
resource in the game. The Political Will
mechanic is intended to drive both Japanese
and Allied thinking. So it is understood, the
design
ign is trying to push the US PW level to
4 where Allied historical incentives should
encourage appropriate historical behavior. A
great deal of electronic ink has been spilled
with a plethora of claims of easy Japanese
victory. As time has gone on, most of these
claims have been significantly muted as
knowledge of Allied counter play has
diffused into the EotS metagame
environment.
The Allies begin the game with a US PW of
+8 and assuming that the Japanese follow
the historical script, they could drive it
down to 5 by the end of Turn 2 through
the surrender of three Allied nations
(Philippines, Malaya, and DEL). The
surrender of Burma or Allied failure to
achieve progress of the war requirements on
one of the first two opportunities are meant
to drive PW down to 4. The other US PW
requirements are there to ensure that
Designer's Notes by Mark Herman
historical objectives (e.g., Midway or the
Aleutians) or casualties are present in player
strategic decisions and risk calculations.
Once US PW begins to fall below 4 the
Japanese start to gain opportunities for early
victory through card play (Tokyo Rose/
Tojo Resigns). Some Japanese players play
Tojo Resigns at the first opportunity. This
is dangerous if it does not win the game, it
activates the Invasion of Manchuria. If the
Allies survive the early play of Tojo Resigns,
it thus substantially increases the probability
of an Allied A-bomb
bomb victory (no invasion of
the Japanese home islands required). The
Allies must always be sensitive to their US
PW level and any Japanese action that
threatens it is by definition something that
requires a reaction. It will be a rare game
where the Allied player is not sweating over
his US PW level at some point during play.
The US PW effects for Midway and the
Aleutians often causes the Japanese to
expend early effort in these directions. It is
important to note that in order for the
Japanese to qualify for these US PW
reductions, a Japanese ground unit must
occupy the hex in question during the US
Political Will Segment simple control
alone is insufficient. If the Japanese go for
Midway on Turn 2, the Allies should throw
their entire Hawaiian force at this offense.
Assuming that there is a US air unit on
Midway, there is a very high probability
that the Allies will be able to react. The goal
is to win the air-naval battle to prevent the
Japanese landing a ground unit. If Wake
has not been captured and the Japanese are
not providing naval escort, the Allies can
use their single Turn 2 ASP to perform a
reaction AA move with the Wake Marine
unit thus making Japanese success even
more problematical. Even if the Japanese do
not try to make this attack, it is usually
prudent to redeploy the Wake Marine unit
to Midway if it is still in play. In the event
that the Japanese are successful in taking
Midway, it has hopefully come at the
expense of some important naval units and
a loss of offensive momentum in the all-
important DEI sector.
In regards to the Japanese taking an
Aleutian hex on game Turn 2, the Allied
response should be to place both Marine
brigades with naval and air support in
Dutch Harbor (5100) during the reinforce-
ment segment of game Turn 3. Using a low
value card, preferably a I OC, the two
Marine brigades (with air and naval
modifiers) have a 90% chance of eliminat-
ing a Japanese reduced army and so
avoiding the US PW penalty. If the
Japanese send a full strength army to an
Aleutian hex, the 1 OC offensive prevents
any Japanese reaction (due to range)
allowing the Allies to first reduce the army
through air-naval combat, prior to its
destruction during ground combat.
The progress of the war requirement forces
the Allies to be aggressive. Without this
mechanic the Allies could sit back and wait
until their overwhelming reinforcements
arrive before starting to move forward.
During playtesting this created an ahistoric
`Sitzkrieg' environment with the Japanese
too weak to hurt the Allies, and the Allies
waiting until they had a pat situation before
prosecuting the war. The solution was to
introduce the political pressure that drove
many Allied strategic decisions.
The Allied imperative is how do they start
to achieve their Political Will requirement
starting on Turn 4 when their available
ASPS are less than 5. The goal is to fight in
locations that allow for large macro
conversions of spaces (e.g., the Solomons,
New Guinea, and the Marshalls), coupled
with judicious successes in the CBI. As
stated earlier, one of the key goals of the
Japanese hedgehog strategy is to deny the
Allies these macro conversion opportunities
in the Solomons and New Guinea. The
response is to use the enormous Allied
spatial advantage to capture the Marshall
Islands a year earlier in the war. Again,
remember that another possible way to
avoid early progress of the war penalties is
combat in the CBI (China-Burma-India)
theater.
At all costs defend Burma and strive to
avoid having it surrender. The Allies do not
need to hold onto more than one key hex
to prevent surrender, so focus your energy
on achieving this and avoiding the US PW
hit. If the Japanese focus on CBI, then be
prepared for a meatgrinder. The Allies in
the aggregate have more ground replace-
ments than the Japanese, but over a given
turn both sides have the same rate of two
(assuming the Japanese are pulling divisions
out of China). Players will note that
operations in CBI are slow. It is usually
hard for a unit to advance more than one
space per offensive, so only fight for key
hexes. The Allies also have a natural spatial
advantage due to China. Try to keep some
units in China because it causes the
Japanese to leave units to block their
movement. In the end, air power and a
layered defense are the keys to a successful
Allied strategy in the CBI.
If the Japanese choose to stand on the
defensive on the Siam border or southern
Burma, then the Allies need to attack. The
Allies should expend at least one or two
cards per turn in the CBI. They should also
try and stretch the Japanese defense by
starting an overland advance on Hanoi. The
main goal is to force the Japanese to defend
Indochina and bleed their ground and air
forces. A successful offensive out of Burma
can even begin to advance along the Chinese
coast because it is presumed that the
subsequent Japanese defense will inevitably
have to draw down their divisions in China,
making
aking this an easier proposition late in the
game.
Another Allied option that can be used is
what I call the Chicken Caesar defense. If
the Japanese do not conquer the Philippines
or Malaya, look for opportunities to
withdraw available ground units and
reposition them in the DEI. Also, wherever
possible preserve your air units until Allied
reinforcements enter the game on Turn 3.
In the end it is the Japanese that define the
basic outlines of how any game will
proceed, especially in the opening moves.
So,, the key theme for the Allies is to hurt
the Japanese elite units, fight for the DEL
and exploit opportunities as they arise. It
seems that early on players often find
Japanese strategy and opportunities easier to
exploit in the game. EotS is very finely
balanced to achieve a 50-50
50 result. Most
Japanese victories will come early. If
you find that the Japanese are winning
too often, I strongly encourage players
to use the US Political Will bidding
system, so more end games and a faster
learning
ng curve can be achieved.
Both Sides: Middle Game, 1943 to
mid-1944 (G
Game turns 5-9)
It has been said about the game of GO that
it has as many possible moves as there are
atoms in the Universe. A friend and I once
tried to figure this out and if you use some
heroic assumptions about the size of the
Universe you can definitely get an answer in
the correct order of magnitude, giving tacit
support to this ascertain. If this idea
id is even
close to true, then EotS possesses more
possibilities than GO. The point of this
comment is it is very hard to say how to

proceed in the Middle game without
characterizing the opening.
A good way to think about how to conduct
Allied Offensives is taken right out of the
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey of 1 July
1946, "For long-range
range amphibious advances
against strongly defended positions a typical
pattern developed. Japanese bases flanking the
United States objective were smothered by a
concentration of air power. Such bases as were
within reach were hammered by shore-based based
air. Carrier-based
based air and available shore
shore-
based air softened the area to be occupied, and
as the amphibious force moved up, fast carriers
advancing beyond the objective struck swift
blows at all positions which could threaten the
objective area. With close air supportftom
both escort and fast carriers and a concentra
concentra-
tion of gunfire from combatant ships of the
supportfirce, an amphibious assault over the
beaches was made. The objective was secured
under air support and coverftom the carriers,
which were not withdrawn until air fields
ashore could be prepared and activated." This
is a textbook formula for how the Allies
need to coordinate their assets to achieve
maximum results in EotS and is built into
the fabric of the design.
Assuming that the Japanese have followed
the historical script, then the Allies will
probably find themselves doing the same.
The early Allied efforts should be to first
retake the Solomons and the north coast of
New Guinea. This will put Allied air power
in range of Truk, neutralizing it as a base.
Once this has occurred, the Allies should
then isolate and conquer the Marshall
Islands. The key to any middle game
strategy for the Allies is the capture of the
Marianas Islands, particularly Saipan/
Tinian (3813), although there are alterna-
tive locations like Marcus Island (4110).
These alternatives
natives are particularly important
if the Japanese player over-defends the
Marianas. If the Allies capture Saipan (or an
alternative site) by game Turn 8, then their
Turn Nine B29 air unit (remember the
B29, like HQs, cannot be delayed) can be
placed there and the strategic bombing
campaign begins on schedule. Another
alternative is to base a B29 out of China.
This is an additional incentive for the
Japanese to have an active CBI theater by
cutting the Burma Road to slow this B29
deployment. If B29 deployment can't be
accomplished (flying in from Northern
India means it cannot bomb on Turn 9),
then the invasion of Japan is the only way
for the Allies to win the game.
Strategy Concepts in Empire of the Sun
Even if the Allied strategic bombing middle game strategy is to seek and destroy
campaign begins on schedule, the Allies still the Japanese air and naval forces. As long as
need to continue playing the game as if they the Japanese maintain a fleet in being,
bein the
are going to invade Japan. The best way to Allies have to move under the assumption
think about this is to work your way back that every offensive could bring on a major
from the final objective in terms of land battle. This threat of Japanese air and naval
based airpower range. A good strategy is to reaction, forces the Allies to seriously protect
get land based air within range of Honshu, each of their middle game offensives (as they
and the best way to do that is from Kyushu. did historically) or suffer
su potential setbacks.
Getting Allied land based planes into Although the Allies appear to have
normal range of Kyushu is usually done overwhelming force by Turn 8, they still
from Okinawa (3209). Working even need to be careful. Only a limited amount
further back, the best place to get air power of naval losses can be replaced and the
within range of Okinawa is Formosa (3009), combination of Japanese reaction forces,
and the next step back is the Philippines. augmented by Kamikaze cards, can rapidly
cause a large number of step losses.
The Philippines can be circumvented by a Therefore, the destruction of Japanese naval
direct attack on Formosa, but this will and air forces remains a constant Allied
require a large fleet of CVs and a reasonably priority du
during the middle game.
weak Japanese air force. Consequently it is
often a good idea to take Luzon via Leyte as
a platform to attack Formosa, or make a The flip side of Allied strategy becomes the
Japanese strategy. At this point in the game,
direct attack on Okinawa using non-LRB
it is assumed that the Japanese are probably
air at half strength from the north Luzon
not going to win a negotiated settlement.
airfield. There are also a number of
excellent cards that make the Philippines an However, the Japanese still need to create
attractive objective for the late-middle situations where they can kill a US Marine
game. In either case, the Allied advance at Division or Army Corps (-I ( PW) to keep
some point in the late middle game needs to the Allied player honest and potentially pull
pul
end up in the neighborhood of Kyushu with off a late game negotiation victory. All key
land based air power if they are to effect a locations need to have full strength armies
successful invasion of Honshu. on them supported by air power, if possible.
This is where a CBI heavy Japanese strategy
The other major component of the Allied
(Continues on page 46)
Allied Axes of Advance
This diagram shows the basic Allied Axes of Advance
to set up the Invasion of Japan and initiate the
Strategic Bombing Offensive.
Designer's Notes by Mark Herman
(Continued from page 43)
can hurt because the loss of ground steps
with such a strategy is inevitable, making it
difficult to properly defend the key invasion
routes due to lack of replacements from
China.
A defending full strength Japanese army, or
two reduced armies, can potentially knock
out six steps of Allied ground units in an
amphibious assault. A valuable event play
for Japan is the 'Defense Doctrine' card
(#3I), whose permanent +1 ground DRM
(for battles fought on any one hex island)
can be the difference between victory and
defeat. A well-fortified island position will
require that the Allies soften up the
objective by reducing the Japanese army
and air units, which takes a card. For the
Allies to ignore this possibility is to court
disaster. This is a situation where two
reduced armies (which can't be eliminated
via air-naval combat) are a bit better than a
full strength army, but at the sacrifice of
stacking limits (which reduces the amount
of air power that can support the defense).
Since even a reduced Japanese army can
eliminate three steps in ground combat, the
Allies are forced to bring three ground units
to well defended positions if they want to
avoid potential US PW casualty penalties.
During the middle game the Japanese need
to embrace economy of force operations. A
bold reaction at the wrong time can see the
entire Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN)
eliminated, leaving the Allies with a fairly
free hand for the remainder of the game. A
fleet in being strategy works to the Japanese
benefit because it causes the Allies to advance
under the assumption that the Japanese can
sortie out the entire fleet for the final
showdown. This threat alone will cause the
Allies to use more resources to take less
territory. If this threat is removed, the Allied
advance will quickly pick up momentum.
If the Japanese do not follow the historical
script, then if the Allies have not lost the
game by Turn 8, the possibility of the
Japanese winning through a negotiated
settlement becomes very remote. In this case,
the Allies should have advanced faster than
the historical timeline and consequently the
possibility of an A-bomb victory increases.
As I said earlier, it is very hard to say much
more about the middle game without
knowing the result of the opening plays.
Having said this, geography and air power
ranges drive Allied objectives, so applying the
map's spatial logic is the Japanese player's
best guide for where they need to defend.
Both Sides: Late game, late 1944-45
1944
(game turns 10-12)
The dominating character of any EotS end
game is how both sides position themselves
for the invasion of Japan. Assuming that the
Allied strategic bomber offensive is on track,
and if the Tojo Resigns/Invasion of
Manchuria combination has already played
out,, then the Allies should seriously look at
going for an A A-bomb victory. If only the
Tojo Resigns card has been played, the
Allies need to plan and position their forces
for the big invasion. They should still pick
up on the cheap any resource hexes that the
Japanese have either abandoned or are
weakly held as a hedge that the Invasion of
Manchuria card play will occur prior to
game Turn 12.
The Japanese player should start to pull
forces back for the defense of JapanJapa if it
looks likely that invasion is the only way for
the Allies to win. If the possibility of an A-
A
bomb victory still exists, the Japanese need
to be cautious in how much they denude
their DEI positions of ground and air
defenses. A successful Japanese defense
d of
Honshu usually rests on having sufficient
air power available. A significant Imperial
victory is whenever the Japanese can turn

Charts and Tables
by Steve Carey
The charts and tables included with
Empire of the Sun are extremely
helpful, and they do provide the
basics for navigating your way
through the various aspects of play.
Listed below are a small group of
additional reminders that I've found
helpful to pencil in:
Quick Start Set Up Map The DD
US Asia naval unit should be in hex
26I6 (Tarakan, with the Dutch
regiment). A Dutch Regiment should
be in hex 2721 (Toepang).
Air Naval CRT the +4 Ambush
DRM applies to the Allies (not just
the US).
Terrain Effects Chart the MP
cost only applies when moving via a
Trans Route into a hex that is not
enemy occupied (land units must pay
the full terrain cost to enter any enemy
occupied hex).
Replacements may not arrive into
a hex that is within an un-neutralized
enemy ZOI (that existed prior to the
Replacement phase), i.e., the same
restriction as a Reinforcement.
Submarine Warfare in addition to
reducing the Japanese hand size by one card
for the current turn, a successful submarine
warfare roll also permanently reduces
Japanese ASP by I, and will also reduce
Escorts (+4 to +2, or +2 to 0). Note that
Japan's minimum hand size is 4 Cards, and
Japan can never lose its last ASP.
Strategic Bombing a successful B29 roll
also increases Political Will by 1 (limited to
once per game turn).
Occupation of Alaska penalty (-1
PW) requires the Japanese to occupy an
Aleutian Island hex for 2 consecutive
turns.
Occupation of Alaska
(Clarification) this does not apply if
captured on Turn 1; disregard penalty
for entire game in such case.
Occupation of Hawaii
(Clarification) this does not apply if
captured on Turn I; disregard penalty
for entire game in such case.
Progress of the War requirement (+5
hex occupation starting on turn 4) may
also include capture of a Resource hex,
or a 1 hex Island (that contains a port
or airfield), in addition to a mainland
named location, port, or airfield.

US Political Will US Casualties penalty

(-I PW) only applies to indicated units that
are capable of receiving replacements (not
`dot' units).

back an Allied invasion of a Honshu hex
since it is usually attended by large Allied
casualties.
The Japanese have to be a little bit careful
to maintain a link to the Asian mainland,
particularly the Korean resource hex (3305),
otherwise there exists the potential for an
Allied blockade (see 12.93). Historically the
Allies never penetrated into the Sea of Japan
with surface units, but if the Japanese air
and naval forces are sufficiently reduced, the
possibility of an Allied invasion of Korea to
cut Japan off exists. The Japanese
apanese often will
use the I8-18 Korean Army for offensive
operations early in the game. It is a good
idea to consider leaving this force in Korea
for the duration of the game, or at a
minimum returning it to this location to
make this a difficult Allied undertaking.
Allied strategies in the end game are
eliminating the Japanese air force and
whatever remnants of the IJN that still
exist. The most important focus of the end
game is to get sufficient Allied ground
power onto Honshu with sufficient time
(e.g., cards in hand) to conquer Honshu's
seven hexes (six of which have intrinsic
garrisons; 3606 does not). This invasion is
almost always very bloody and if US PW is
Examples of Play
by Steve Carey
The following are a few clarifications to
enhance examples included in the
rulebook:
Page 12, 627 Special Reaction Move for
for this
example, it is presumed that the Japanese
first moved a CV (just off-map
example) to neutralize the ZOI of the
7th AF air unit and thus allow the
landing of the ground unit at Kauai.
Page 40, Borneo Step 3 Post-Battle
Movement may occur, even though no
actual battle occurred any activated
units are allowed to PBM as required.
Page 41, Hong Kong Step 2 there is a
modifier of -2 DRM to the roll of the
Japanese 17th Army since the battle
hex is Mixed Terrain.
Page 41, Philippines Step 10 the
invading Japanese 14th army would be
halved on defense (since it is amphibi-
ously invading), and the defending
Allied NL Corps likewise gets +3 DRM
Strategy Concepts in Empire of the Sun
low enough a late war negotiated Japanese
victory always remains a possibility.
The Allies usually need to reposition one of
their HQs at the end of the game. It is
particularly effective to get a Joint Allied
HQ positioned close to Japan to enable the
use of Commonwealth ground and naval
units in the late game. A key card combina-
tion for the Allies is to use one of the
Conference cards that confer the exchange a
card with the discard pile bonus allowing
the Allies to regain a major military event
such as Operation Coronet to launch their
initial Honshu invasion. Allied focus should
be on taking a Honshu port as their first
objective. Once a port is captured, the Allies
should pour ground forces into Japan via
Strategic Transport, particularly Common-
wealth ground units who are immune from
US PW penalties, for the final conquest of
the island.
There is no particular subtlety to the
defense of Honshu. Having every Honshu
hex covered with a ground unit to augment
the intrinsic defense, backed by at least one
air unit, is the best hope for Japanese
victory. Here again, the Defense Doctrine
+1 DRM, coupled with the normal +3 AA
benefit, can result in some nasty outcomes
to its roll, so mathematically the I4th army
must suffer at least 1 Hit (and would be
eliminated with 2 Hits on an Allied roll of
6+). Note that Surprise does not apply to
Ground Combat (which is always simulta-
neous).
Page 41, Philippines Step 11 since hex
29I3 is mixed terrain, the Japanese I9th
Army would only receive a +2 DRM (+2 for
Air Superiority, +2 for Naval Superiority, -2
for Mixed Terrain).
Page 42, Game Turn 2 all Allied Turn 2
Reinforcements go into the Delay Box
except the SEAC HQ (since HQ's are never
delayed). Also, there is only I (not two) US
Army ground unit (the I1th Corps) and 3
US Army air units present to each make a
diversion roll for Europe.
Page 42, Replacement Phase Place the
for the Allies as they grind towards Japan.
The Japanese should consider a ground
counteroffensive prior to the Allies
expanding ffrom a Honshu port unless the
number of Allied cards remaining is
insufficient for them to finish the job. No
matter how it goes, the final conquest of
Honshu offers few opportunities for subtle
moves and is very costly in resources for
both sides. If the Allies can avoid invading
Japan they should, but if not, use maximum
force for all attacks or potentially suffer a
game losing setback. For the Japanese it is a
fight to the last unit, with victory often
occurring on the last card of the game.
Conclusion
Japanese strategy always dominates the
opening phase and the character of the
game as a whole. Once the Japanese,
through their early actions, have defined the
broad outlines of their defensive perimeter
it is up to the Allies to figure out how to
penetrate it to bring their forces to bear
against Japan. The number of combinations
and permutations are beyond this article to
fully articulate, but hopefully the basic
themes are now a bit more visible. I hope
you have as much fun playing EotS as I do.
returning 7th AF non-LRB
non unit in
Midway (5108) and the returning 7th
AF LRB unit in Oahu (5808).
Page 43, Cot Tsugi, Unit 82 since the
card text states that "Only Japanese
ground units may be activated", the
22nd air flotilla and the BB Kongo2
would not be able to activate (done so
in this example for illustrative purposes
only). Also, the 25th Army could not
move from Kota Bharu (2112) to
Kuantan (2014) since Col. Tsugi only
provides 2 MPs (it's OC value), and the
Trans Route movement rate cannot be
used to enter an enemy occupied hex
(must pay full MP cost).
Further, note that the + 4 DRM
provided during combat is correct; Col.
Tsugi's card text neutralizes the normal
terrain benefit. Finally, the 8th
Australian could not leave Singapore (to
move into Kuantan) since it could not
leave a declared battle hex.
Page 43, Battle of Kuantan it is of
course the British who retreat into
Singapore, not the Japanese.